Because of a Disaster
by Nosuka chan
Summary: ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
1. Chapter 1

Nosuka chan: Hey, people! This is my first fan fiction, so please; no flames!

Kiyoraka: You can't tell that to people. They'll know something's up!

Nosuka chan: But, I didn't mean anything by it! And since when can you tell me what I can and can't do?

Kuroi: Okay, enough before this starts a full-out war. Just start the fan fiction already!

Nosuka chan: *grumbles* Keh. Whatever.

#~*~#

Chapter 1

Hayate was rather annoyed. Himeno was still in Hokkaido, since she had not returned from her vacation. But tomorrow was the day that she was coming back on her flight. The day of the three-year anniversary of the defeat of the Tree of Fenrir. The day Hayate was going to confess his feelings to Himeno. Or at least, that was what the other Leafe Knights had planned to force him to do.

_Flash Back_

_It was a bright day in Awayuki Town, which was a good sign. The Tree of Fenrir had done major damage to the beautiful town, and the whole place was lucky to still exist. However, that had been almost three years ago, it's third-year anniversary only four days away now, but Kei still thought that the place was in good shape. _

_Kei's P.O.V._

'_This is annoying.' Kei thought to himself as he busily constructed his newest project, a video game sequel: "Pretear; The Return of Fenrir!" _

'_What's wrong with Hayate? He used to be so brave and upfront about everything. But now, ever since he kissed Himeno, he's been a ball of nerves!' Kei thought this over, even though he had done so over a hundred times already. He was thinking about Hayate's feelings for Himeno, the one thing that was keeping Hayate on edge. _

'_Jeez, when is he going to admit that he loves her already? Shimatta, it's getting aggravating, watching him stutter and turn red!' Kei flipped his golden-blonde ponytail out his eyes, and thought for a second about how Hayate would stutter, turn tomato-red, and turn away from Himeno whenever she talked about something related to the end of the battle. Kei smiled just a little. _

'_Actually, I don't think I'll ever get tired of that. But it still is bothersome; Himeno deserves to know the truth from Hayate, one way or another.' _

_Kei sighed. Himeno needed to find out. But not from the other knights, from Hayate himself. _

_Suddenly Kei stopped typing, and a bright smile came to his face._

'_That's it!'_

_End Kei's P.O.V._

_Later, Kei called up his fellow knights (except for Hayate, of course) and a few others. Goh, Mannen, Hajime, Shin, Sasame, Takako, Mawatta, and even Mayune gathered in the garden where the knights had first met their beloved Pretear, by the benches and the large wind chimes._

_"What's this about, Kei?" Shin asked innocently. Three years hadn't changed him a bit, except for the fact that he had grown taller and had gained some muscles._

_"Yeah, spill it!" Mannen injected, still as impatient as ever, only slightly more matured by the years. Goh promptly smacked the back of Mannen's head and they began to quarrel. Sasame sighed. 'Some things never change.' he thought to himself, holding Takako's hand a little tighter. 'But i'm glad some things do.'_

_"Calm down," Kei interrupted Goh's and Mannen's argument, regaining their attention, "This is about Hayate and Himeno!" and immediately this caught everyone's attention._

_"I have a plan to get them together!" he announced, causing the younger knights to cheer and the older members of the small group to smile brightly, and Goh laughed a little. You could hear Mayune mumble 'Finally!' under her breath. _

_Quickly he explained what he wanted to do for Himeno and Hayate when Himeno would arrive home. _

_"So," Kei stated, "Does everyone know what they need?" he continued._

_"Yes!" was the happy reply. Kei smiled to himself. He truly was a genius. And now he was a party planner!_

_#~*~#_

Nosuka chan: Well how was that for a first chapter?

Kiyoraka: mediocre.

Kuroi: '_oh boy... here we go again...'_

Nosuka chan: WH-WHAT! *a-_hem!_* Kiyo-sama, you _do _realize this is my _first _chapter of my _first_ fanfiction? And could you give me a break? This was harder than _you_ would've admitted, and I was just trying to get the plot set up!

Kiyoraka: _what. ever. _just hurry up, your mother wants you in bed, it's past 10.

Kuroi: *plugs his ears and turns away*

Nosuka chan: THAT. IS. IT. I'm sorry readers, please excuse me while i go and rid myself of Kiyo-baka! please, i'd like one review before i put up my next chapter. Ja ne!

Kiyoraka: wha-what are you doing with that duct tape? Nosuka chan? nosu-chan?

Kuroi: Ja ne. please review! *runs away from Nosuka chan, who is currently duct-taping Kiyoraka to the ceiling of her office*


	2. Chapter 2

Nosuka chan: *Absently throwing paperclips at something on the ceiling*

Kuroi: *walks in nervously* Nosuka chan?

Nosuka chan: huh? Oh, Kuro-chan, you're back! Where did you go?

Kuroi: I went to my house, so I could sleep. Where's Kiyo-san? You didn't use the machete, did you?

Nosuka chan: No, no! Don't worry. I didn't use the machete. This time. But she is in a better place, for all of our sakes. *points upward*

Kuroi: *pale by now* W-wh-what! You didn't… you …you couldn't have… could you…!

Nosuka chan: Spit it out boy!

Kuroi: Did… you…. Did you… you know… kill her…?

Nosuka chan: _scoff. _Really, I expected you to be smarter. Look_ up_!

Kuroi: *Looks at ceiling to see Kiyoraka, duct-taped to the ceiling with her mouth taped shut, asleep* What? You actually duct-taped her to the ceiling! What has it been, two days, and she's still there? How much tape did you use!

Nosuka chan: Yes, yes, about four days, and only a few rolls. I could have done worse. And now, without further ado, here's the next chapter! Thank you, CherryBlossom210, for your review! The only review!

Kuroi: What am I gonna do with you?

#~*~#

_Himeno_

Himeno was the happiest that she had been all week. She was going home today! Not that she hadn't enjoyed her vacation, it had been wonderful. The hot springs, the shopping outlets, her new credit card (A.N. It was a gift for her 17th birthday from Natsue & Kaoru.) which had been burning a hole in her wallet, and the beautiful lights in the city at night. No, the thing that she hadn't thought was wonderful was Yayoi's constant babble about a romantic anime show that had been edited in Hokkaido, how it was just _horrible _that Hayate had a chance to find someone to secretly fall in love and meet in private with while Himeno was away, how a terrible accident could occur and that she would never see her beloved Leafe Knight of the Wind again, and how Himeno would have to thrive on the last memory of their parting words at the airport, etc., etc., etc. And if you thought _that _was bad enough, what really messed up her vacation was the nagging feeling that some of what Yayoi said could be _true_. Himeno shook her head, relieving herself from the trance-like state. She shouldn't think about such things.

Himeno handed her ticket to the lady at the desk, and then walked onto her flight with Yayoi. They would be flying first class, as Natsue insisted that it could be done no other way.

"Here you go, Miss Awayuki, Miss Takato," the flight attendant showed them to their seats and they thanked her. "Er, and, if it would not be a problem, Miss Awayuki, would you mind if I asked you for an autograph? My little girl is a big fan of yours, she has your video game, and she's waiting for the sequel, she even has the cosplay outfit for the 'White Pretear', she wore it for Halloween two years in a row." Himeno smiled brightly. Having a fan or two was nothing new to her; everyone had made her famous with the whole, "White-Pretear" theme. She had not been used to it at first, but after the first year it had become dramatically easier. So, she took a piece of paper and a pen from the lady and neatly put her name down, signing the 'i' with a little heart (A.N.-yeah, I made her write in English, but only so she could dot her 'I' with a heart). The flight attendant, Miss Shiruku, as her nametag said, thanked Himeno and walked down the aisle into the attendant's quarters. Squeals could be heard and occasionally and a few of the attendants would stick their heads through the curtain and gasp. Himeno would get a kick out of it, but Yayoi just frowned.

"Himeno."

"Yes?" she replied, not liking the non-reassuring tone in her friend's voice, which could only mean something romantic/desperately fan like was coming.

"You know, there are plenty of _guy _attendants too! And I saw one of them, he was really hot, and when I mean hot, I mean melt-your-heart-like-wax, drown-you-in-beauty, makes-water-evaporate, kills-you-then-brings-you—"her ranting was silenced by Himeno's hand on her mouth.

"No. Not for this Pretear. You can go at 'em with all you got, but don't drag me in! …Or is that what you're trying to tell me, like for help with a guy…?" Himeno suddenly brought up, seeing the pleading look in Yayoi's eyes. "…You're asking me for help, 'cuz you think this guy won't pay attention to you, but he'll pay attention to the famous Pretear girl?" Himeno knew instantly that that was true. "How" you might be asking? Simple; Himeno's father was a novelist. A _romance novelist._ It was so obvious, and it was further confirmed when Yayoi nodded and gently removed Himeno's hand from her face.

"Please? You could tell him that you have a really nice friend. You two wouldn't even have to get to know each other, because I know that you have someone else on your mind._"_

Himeno blushed. Of course Yayoi knew that she liked Hayate, though she had never told anyone else besides her. That was one of the main reasons she was happy to be going home, to see Hayate again. She couldn't wait to see him, with his long, deep-blue hair; his sky-blue eyes that you could get lost in, his warm embrace that would tell her that everything would be alright, his-

"Himeno!"

Himeno snapped back into the real world and blushed even harder. Yayoi just rolled her eyes. Himeno would get like that sometimes, thinking about Hayate so much that she would totally space out altogether.

"So… will you help me?" Yayoi asked quietly and blushed. Himeno knew that this was severe. Yayoi blushed a lot, but never _this_ hard and she was _never ever _quiet when talking about something connected in any way shape or form to romance. Himeno sighed.

"Point him out."

Yayoi glomped Himeno for a second before leaning out into the aisle from her seat and looking for said attendant. Yayoi pointed to him, and Himeno saw that her friend had picked a _very _good looking man. _'Not that he could ever replace Hayate' _Himeno thought to herself.

This man was tall, with blonde, short hair, a thin frame, light peach skin, and violet eyes that were framed by long, dark lashes (A.N.- Wait for it…). He looked like an angel almost. Like a prince of some sort (A.N. hint hint!). Obviously wealthy, Himeno saw that he was wearing very expensive shoes and pants (she had been taught the way to tell if a person was rich or not depending on their clothes by Mayune since she was going to be rich, because apparently Mayune had thought this was important).

Himeno got up from her seat and walked over to him. _'Now I just hope that he's not seeing someone!' _She thought to herself before she started talking to him.

"Er, hello?" He snapped his head towards her, flashing her a brilliant, blinding white smile.

"Yes, Madame?" he asked, frowned, then gasped. "Mi-Miss Himeno Awayuki! The Pretear? Savior of all Japan from the Leafe-stealing enemy, Fenrir and her Tree!"

'_You overdid it with the video game, Kei.' _Himeno thought. She smiled, "ah, am I really that famous?"

"Er, yes, Miss Awayuki! It's a pleasure to meet you!" the blonde said, bowing slightly and stuttering. "How can I help you?"

A few minutes later, Himeno walked down the airplane row back to her seat, with Tamaki Suoh (A.N. I warned you! Muhaha, did any of you realize who it was?), for that was his name, in tow behind her. Yayoi turned to look at Himeno, then realized who was behind her, and jumped up, clumsily knocking her sandwich off of her tray. Tamaki rushed over to help her.

"No, no, it was my fault…" Yayoi mumbled, blushing, leaning down to pick up her dismantled sandwich.

"It's alright miss, I'm here to help'" and as he said it, he put his hand on hers when they both tried to pick up a piece of bread, which only caused Yayoi to blush even harder.

Soon Tamaki and Yayoi were in a conversation, and Tamaki took a break to sit with Yayoi. Soon they were laughing and chatting as if they were old friends, while Himeno just watched them happily from her window seat next to them.

'_Huh. Maybe when I get back, Hayate and I can talk to each other like that."_But this thought only caused Himeno to shake her head. _'No, Hayate doesn't think of me that way. He calls me Tulip head and he would yell at me a lot before the battle with Fenrir, and he just turns away from me when I try to talk to him sometimes.' _Himeno sighed. Every time she tried to talk to Hayate about the end of the battle, he would stutter, turn red, and turn away from her. What was his problem anyway? What was so important the he nor the others could tell her?

By the time Himeno was thinking about this, she was already high up in the air over the water. She hadn't even realized it until she looked out the window. She saw the deep blue ocean and she stared at it for a long time, thinking about how Hayate's eyes were the same hue. But suddenly she snapped out of her trance-like state; something was wrong. She could feel it in her gut. And Himeno Awayuki had learned to trust her gut, and never doubt it. It was something she had learned in training as Pretear: trust your gut to tell you when to attack, trust your gut to tell you where a demon larvae was, trust your gut to aim where the demon larvae's source of power was. And Himeno knew that something very, _very _bad was about to happen.

Her fears were confirmed when she smelled gasoline and heard a loud explosion, followed by screams and a blinding red and blue light.

#~*~#

Nosuka chan: MUAHAHAAA! And now I leave you to deal with a cliffy! And I'm so happy, I got what I wanted to be done, done, and this chapter was as long as I wanted it to be.

Kuroi: Yeah, this is a pretty long chapter for your standards, and you worked really hard on this, I can tell.

Nosuka chan: Aawww, that's what I have you here for, to be a suckup! C'mere! *glomps him*

Kuroi: Yeah that's pretty much my purpose. I-wait, do you hear something ripping?

Nosuka chan: '_Oh crap…'_

**RIIIIIPPP! BAAM!CRAASHH!**

Kiyoraka: * falls to the floor with previously mentioned sound effects***MMFFHHPPPHHH! (**OUUUUUUCCCHHHH!)

Nosuka chan: *sighs* well, good things never last.

Kuroi: *stops hugging Nosuka chan and rushes over to the pile of tape* Are you okay!

Kiyoraka: **MLL HHTT DUHH OOH TTNKK! **(WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK!)

Kuroi: I'll help you, lemme get that tape off of your mouth first-

Kiyoraka: ddnntt duh etttt! Eetttll hhrt suuh bdd! (Don't do it! It'll hurt sooo bad!)

Nosuka chan *plugs her ears and starts giggling like a maniac*

Kuroi: I know you want me to do it, just wait a second, I'll rip it off really quick so it won't hurt! Ok, 3, 2, 1,..

**RIIIIIIIIP**

Kiyoraka: (CENSORED FOR YOUNGER READERS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Nosuka chan: *on the ground, not able to breathe because she's laughing so hard*

Kiyoraka: *crying insanely and screaming curses*

Kuroi: ooooopppsss… looks at giant wad of tape in hand* well, I'd beter get going… Review! Ja ne! *runs away from screaming pile of tape and girl that's laughing undelievably hard*


	3. Chapter 3

Nosuka chan: WOOHOO! Another review! From CherryBlossom210 again, thank you so much!

Kiyoraka: So you're actually gonna go on with this story?

Kuroi: Of course she is, it's a wonderful story so far.

Nosuka chan: Awww, KURO-CHA~~~N! *glomps Kuroi once again*

Kiyoraka: Would you QUIT with the incessant glomping already! You're really getting on my nerves!

Nosuka chan: Ooo~~~h, someone's just a wee-tad JEALOUS!

Kuroi: *still blushing from Nosuka chan's hugging* Al-alright, just go on with the story!

Nosuka chan: KK Kuro-chan!

#~*~#

Hayate did not enjoy being in this current situation, which just happened to be being dragged into the Awayuki Mansion by Hajime, Mannen, and Shin. '_why the hell are they giggling like a bunch of damn schoolgirls?' _Hayate thought to himself (A.N./ Jeez, touchy, touchy -_-) while being effortlessly pulled along by the three. Needless to say, he wasn't putting up much a fight to begin with.

As the quartet entered ball room in the mansion, Hayate felt his internal warning system light up like a Christmas tree. There were decorations. Balloons, some lights, a few tables with nice table cloths on them. He just _knew_ that he would be forced to do something involuntarily, and that he would definitely _not_ like what it was.

Hayate was too smart for his own good, and his predictions, unfortunately for him, were true.

First Kei appeared with an evil grin on his face.

Then Sasame appeared with Takako, holding two boxes, a pink one and a blue one. They too were grinning like they knew something that he didn't.

Goh appeared holding numerous rolls of decorative ribbon. (A.N./ is that what it's called? I didn't know whether to call it ribbon or that really thin paper, I can't remember what it's called for some reason :P) Yet another creepy cat grin to add to the rest.

Hayate tried to turn around and run out the door, back to his peaceful- and much less creepy –flower beds, but found his path being blocked by the three little Leafe Knights that had brought him into this trap in the first place.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing? I've got to get back to work!" Hayate shouted, hoping that this would be a sufficient excuse, yet he had known it wouldn't work.

The rest of them just moved closer to him in one big circle, still with the freaky grins, and Hayate was completely spooked. He had never seen his friends act like this before, not since—

And then realization sunk into his mind. He clenched his eyes, shook his head, made an X with his arms, and said "No! You _shall not, will not, and __cannot _force me to do this! Have you gone _insane!" _his rejections did not faze the group in the slightest.

Suddenly Sasame stepped up to Hayate so that he could look him straight in the eye.

"Come on Hayate, Himeno has been waiting for too long. And when I mean too long, I mean _too long."_ Sasame had told him flatly, causing Hayate to blush.

_Hayate's POV_

_It was His own damn fault for not realizing that the rest of the Leafe Knights had been sitting behind him in the garden that whole time, including Himeno's family, as his emotions took complete control of him, making him lean down further and further, until they were so close, close enough to smell the light scent of flowers in her hair, close enough to see every perfectly chiseled feature on her face, and suddenly, without warning, he had just—_

Hayate shook his head back and forth, making his long, sea-blue hair flow forward and back like rough waves._ I shouldn't be thinking these perverted things… the things that only make me crave her more… that make her that much more irresistible… that make his longing for her strawberry flavored lips that much deeper…I just want to feel her soft lips against mine again… and this time, I want her to be awake and enjoying the feeling with me… No! No no no no, I couldn't! … Could ...could I? Wait, no, of course not!_

_End Hayate's POV_

Hayate kept shaking his head for a few moments, his eyes clenched. He couldn't do that to Himeno, he couldn't _make_ her love him back. Slowly after a few seconds, he unclenched his eyes and looked at Sasame slightly, before turning and pushing Mannen out of his way so that he could jog towards the garden.

"Hayate!"

"Hayate, come back!"

"Hey, jerkface, what was that for?"

The calls were heard through the hall as Mayune and Mawatta ran into the room, looking worried.

"What's up with Hayate?" Mawatta asked quietly, while Mayune blurted out, "He just ignored us and ran past us! Got an explanation?"

The group just shook their heads, all except for Sasame. What had he just seen in Hayate's eyes the moment before he had ran? _'Could it have been … I don't … I'm not sure… '_ he thought while holding his hand to his chin.

"I'll be right back," Sasame blurted out before running in the same direction that the Leafe Knight of the wind had.

Takako shook her head. Sasame was so desperate to help Hayate with his love life, because he felt as though he owed Hayate one since he had been brought back to life by Himeno, the person that Hayate had loved since about a week after he had met her.

Hayate kept running, no longer at a steady pace. He couldn't take the thought of confessing his feelings for Himeno. Don't get him wrong, he _definitely_ had feelings, strong feelings, for Himeno, it was just that he was, well… too chicken. He didn't want to be rejected because he would be unable to face her; he didn't want to keep her in the dark about what he felt, though. Every day that he saw his beautiful White Pretear, his savior, his love, he could feel the agonizing war of his own emotions slowly tearing his heart apart. Soon he knew he would be unable to take the pain, yet he tried so very hard not to blurt it out every time he saw her. The temptation of telling her as soon as she got back was extremely difficult to handle. '_I… I don't know what to do…! Please, someone, anyone, help me decide!' (A.N./ yes, I made this scene especially deep for one purpose; for all those romance lovers!)_

Hayate slowed down to a halt as he tired and realized that he had reached his destination; the gigantic flower garden the Awayuki family had hired him to take care of. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.

Hayate slowly walked over to one section that he had specially prepared, not only for the Awayuki family, but also for himself. This was the one spot he kept privately better than the rest. No flower, not even the majestic rose, could compete with his feelings for this one plot, the spot where he only planted one type of flower, with only one color; _the pink tulips._

As Hayate knelt down and carefully brushed his hand against one of the tulips that had blossomed especially healthy, his thoughts drifted to what Sasame had said earlier. _"Himeno has been waiting for too long, and when I mean too long, I __mean__ too long."_

Had Himeno really been waiting for him to tell her his feelings? But did that mean that she loved him back? No, she couldn't, he had called her tulip head and been so insensitive to her, there was no way that she could love him back like he loved her. Besides, Himeno was stronger than him, she would've been able to explain how she felt before him. But she had never been too good with all that romance stuff, even if Kaoru was a romance novelist. Hayate was so engrossed in thought that he didn't notice Sasame walking up behind him, and was quite shocked when Sasame had yelled his name.

"Hayate! Snap out of it, your ears are smoking from all that thinking!" Sasame yelled. Hey, couldn't he have a little fun once in a while? Hayate just stared at him for a second in shock before realizing what Sasame had said to him; what was he doing joking at this? Now was not the time!

Hayate got to his feet and grumbling an incomprehensible response and walking off, only to be stopped by Sasame's hand on his shoulder. '_What does he want with me now?' _Hayate thought before looking at his elder brother's now serious face.

"Yeah?"

"Hayate, let me ask you something, and give me a completely honest response," Sasame paused to take a calming breath before continuing, "Do you love, and I mean _really love_ Himeno with all of your heart?"

Hayate instantly blushed so furiously it would put a tomato to shame.

"…"

No reply yet, but Hayate had looked at his work shoes, avoiding the other's gaze. He had to tell the truth, if he didn't now, he would regret it for months.

"Y..Yes…"

Sasame instantly calmed and he grasped his brother's shoulder encouragingly. He smiled at his younger brother, and decided to tell him what they had been up to behind his back. Needless to say, Hayate was pretty pissed. They had been planning on forcing him to tell Himeno how he felt! All behind his back! But, he figured, he probably would've told Himeno sooner than later, and this only sped up the process. Now that they had Hayate's acceptance of the situation, they could move a lot faster. Soon the two Leafe Knights were walking back together, talking and sharing ideas to make the party even better. Sasame was relieved: without Hayate's help, the party would have been just plain _boring_.

When they arrived back in the ballroom, they were a little surprised to find everyone staring blankly at the TV screen. Even Takako, who had seen a television numerous times before because of her disguise as a maid back when she had been trying to kill Himeno, was now gaping at the screen, tears brimming in her eyes.

It was the first thing Sasame noticed in the entire room, and he quickly ran to her side to see what was wrong. By now, Hayate had a horrible feeling in his gut: an _extremely _bad omen, since he had learned to trust his gut with his life.

Takako slowly turned to look at Hayate and burst into tears, collapsing to the floor. Sasame went down with her, catching her just before she collided with the ground, a shocked expression still on his face from what he had viewed on the TV. Now Hayate was right behind the other Knights, pushing them out of the way to see what was going on in the news that was so important, but instantly wished he had never come into contact with the screen; for there, was a poorly pixilated video of something exploding, everything turning white. And after the flash and the screams that followed, there stood a girl with bright pink hair, holding a burning airplane seat up from collapsing on two other passengers, one with brown hair, obviously another girl, and a boy with short blonde hair, who in a few seconds crawled to safety, out of the plane, onto a lifeboat in the water. Then the pink-haired girl collapsed and the seat fell on top of her, burning the girl's clothing. The passenger who was holding the video camera or mobile phone screamed, and rushed towards the fallen girl. The passenger dropped the camera next to her, giving clear view of the teenage girl who had been holding it and the crushed other teenage girl. The video girl desperately tried to pull the pink-haired girl out from under the chair, but to no avail; she was trapped, and the water level in the plane was rising, indicating that they had been out above the water. The pink haired girl yelled something at the other girl, arguing with her for a few seconds before turning to the fallen video camera. To it, her bright pink eyes full of intense sorrow, she mouthed the words _'I'm sorry,'_ and managed to get the girl to run for her life with the object projecting the horrid scene. A few seconds later, the scene changed to a girl jumping into a yellow life boat, and quickly pointing the object back at the sinking plane, entitled _Awayuki Flight 9_. There were flames till dancing around the engine of the plane, and from what Hayate could see, the whole thing was slowly burning, from the outside in.

Suddenly the video was cut, and a news reporter flashed on the screen, reporting that this event had taken place just an hour ago. The blonde boy in the video was identified as Tamaki Suoh, and he was accounted for in the video, along with his new girlfriend, Yayoi Takato. The video-taker had been identified as Mira Hansha, and was also alive and well. Hayate froze as the names were called off of the list of survivors. Where was Himeno's name? Himeno had been on that flight with Yayoi, no doubt about it, and there was a pink haired girl in the video, it had been Himeno! Where was Himeno's name, where was it!

A dark feeling of despair and denial settled on Hayate when her name was not announced, and the news reporter said that there was one casualty, due to a heroic act of kindness. _'no. no, no, nO, NO NO NO!'_ was all that Hayate could think as a freeze frame of the one girl that had died, the pink haired, heroic girl came onto view on the screen, and life played in slow motion as Hayate stunmbled backwards, away from the screen, covering his ears, trying to get away, but he heard the reporter loud and clear.

"_Yes, the one girl that sacrificed her life to save others, her name was Himeno Awayuki. She was not found on any of the three life boats, and it has been an hour, far too long for anyone to survive…"_

Hayate felt his world crashing around him, and did the one thing he could find that he was capable of doing at the moment while he was kneeling on his hands and knees on the cold floor.

He screamed.

"NOOOOOO!"

#~*~#

Nosuka chan: *is crying, and sobbing while kneeling on the ground and bending over, almost touching her shoulders to the ground*

Kuroi: NOSUKA! *runs over to where Nosuka chan is and hugs her tightly*

Nosuka chan: I-*hic*-I hated th-this cha-*hic*-chapter, it hur-hurts my, my heart s-so-*hic*-so mu-much.. *starts crying again*

Kuroi: *shocked to see the strongest girl he knows sobbing and weak* It-it'll be alright Nosu-chan, just relax… *begins humming the tune to one of her favorite songs in her ear while still holding her*

Kiyoraka: Damn… defeated… '_I'll never get antwhere at this rate'_ Yeah yea, stop the water works, you stupid brat!

Kuroi: *glares at Kiyoraka murderously with his glowing red eyes* SHUT UP FOR ONCE, KIYORAKA! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT NOSUKA CHAN IS DEPRESSED FROM ALL OF THIS! HER EMOTIONS ARE BENDABLE! HAVE A HEART FOR ONCE! *turns back to Nosuka chan and continues humming*

Kiyoraka: *shocked into silence because Kuroi just shouted at her to have a heart*

Kuroi: Sorry for not updating in a while people, Nosu-chan's been busy with her school work. Please review. Ja ne. And sorry for the outburst.


	4. Chapter 4

Nosuka chan: Hey ppls! I'm so happy that ive got people reading (or just looking at, anyway) my story! THIS story! I found out that i got visitors from the United States, where I am, Puerto Rico and even Turkey! *sniffle* I feel so loved! So I'm continuing this story with another chapter! Oh, and if you wanna find out where the ppl are that have been reading your stories are coming from, just click 'traffic' up at the top and then click 'story traffic'. It's so kewl! *coughs* oh, and if you're wondering where Kuroi and Kiyo-baka are, well, hehehh, we had some, '_disagreements'_ and they're, err, '_in a sticky situation'_… Mweuhahehehhhh…

#~*~#

_Hajime_

Hajime was speeding faster than humanly possible. He _had _to get there. It was _his _fault. Well, at least he thought it was.

All of the knights had been in deep shock, so deep that it would seem as though they would become Fenrir's Dark Knights. Hajime had been so astounded by the events, he couldn't talk, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe for a few minutes. Until Hayate had dragged them so suddenly out of that with his cry. It had been so _painful._ Even to the rest of the Knights who had not been in desperate love with her, it had torn them all apart. _Especially_ Hayate.

_Flashback_

_Hajime watched, as did the rest of the knights behind Hayate, that the girl with pink hair was crushed under the seating, burning, and in an attempt to be saved. They were all in a daze. Hajime couldn't describe the hurt that was growing in his gut. It kept growing, kept hurting, kept poisoning his heart. He couldn't take it. Hajime collapsed to his knees but his tearing blue eyes were unwavering from the mortifying scene on the screen. That girl. The one with the pink hair. She was so familiar. But he refused it. Refused to believe it. It simply wasn't possible. And as the name and picture of the girl flashed onto the screen, it was impossible to comprehend, even though it was right there in front of him. _

_It was Himeno._

_Hajime saw Hayate collapse away from the screen, but paid it no mind. His usually crystallized eyes were melted and spilling. His vision was blurred. His mind was confused at itself. And then he heard it._

_Heard Hayate._

_Hajime heard Hayate scream._

_For the first time in his life._

_Maybe not the first scream, but the most tortured,_

_Pitiful,_

_Hurting,_

_Destructive_

_Scream that he had ever heard his older brother release._

_And it made him snap out of his trance, the only thing that was keeping him from thinking the girl, that he had known for three and a half years now, alive._

"NOOOOOOO_**!"**_

_It had nearly destroyed him. And he thought it was his fault._

_End flashback_

Hajime was going the fastest he could, but was still slower than Hayate. _'Damn! Can't I teleport any faster!'_ was all that Hajime would allow himself to think as he jetted through time and space.

Hajime wanted to get to the site of the crash as soon as he could. He would look for Himeno until he collapsed of exhaustion. _'I'll look for her forever!,'_ he thought as he neared his destination, _'__**Or her body…'**_ a dark voice said in the back of his head, but he squashed the notion. He would not, should not, and could not believe that Himeno was truly dead until he saw her with his own eyes. Besides, everyone had thought her to be dead before, right? But Hayate had proven that she was not dead. Himeno could not be killed.

A sad smile graced his lips. He remembered when Hayate had given Himeno the kiss of life, and how flustered he had been around her ever since.

Hajime hardened his resolve. Seeing Hayate and Himeno together was only one of the many reasons that he would refuse to give up on her. Not now, not yet.

As he appeared in a column of water, he saw Hayate glaring at the water with such an intensity that he thought it would evaporate. The others quickly arrived, except for Sasame, who had stayed behind to help Takako with the loss.

Hajime grimaced. _'No, not the loss, the… the momentary disappearance…'_ he corrected himself. He would not fall under the wicked spell of depression, because Himeno _had_ to be alive.

Hajime snapped out of his trance as he heard Shin let out a strangled sob. It had been hard on all of them, but Shin was so affected by it in ways that the others weren't. Himeno had become like a sister figure to him, they were hardly ever separated. Mawata had become his mother figure. Hayate the father figure, and the rest of them brothers. Shin had been devasted, but in a different way considering that there had been no original mother figure to care for him. And even as an eleven year old now, he still had the right to cry, due to the current circumstances. A right which he was using to the fullest extent at the moment.

Hajime looked away guiltily. He felt so responsible. Why? Something you wouldn't really expect; Himeno had supposedly drowned in water. The problem? He was the Leafe Knight of Water. He was supposed to protect Himeno, and now he had been the reason of her demise. He hated the feeling. He felt like he had _murdered._ Not just anyone, either; His best friend, his sister figure, the Pretear, his brother's love. And he felt _disgusting._

Hajime turned back to the group to see that Hayate was missing. He looked around, and finally Hayate surfaced from the water. All of the other knights jumped back in surprise, as did Hajime.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, scaring us like that! Goh shouted, obviously startled. "We turn around for one minute to help out Shin, and suddenly you disappear? What in Mother Nature's name were you thinking!" Goh shouted once again, causing everyone to cringe. Goh was using some _very_ serious language to them, but Hayate didn't even look as if he had heard. Hayate was still glaring at the water, except with an even greater intensity if possible.

Hayate suddenly snapped his head towards Hajime, still using that deadly glower, grinding out a sentence.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a voice like sand paper on his ears.

Hajime stared sadly at the man in front of him, slightly confused. He tilted his head questioningly, not trusting his own voice. He didn't want it to crack and he didn't want to sound weak, not at a time like this.

Hayate's fierce glare was enflamed. Hajime cringed. He had never been this bad.

"Are you sure that _this_ is the place?" Hayate sounded like he was threatening Hajime.

Hajime actually shrank back a little, and looked away before nodding slowly and sadly. To prove it, he forced a small jet of water out of the ocean. Riding on the small pillar was a piece of shrapnel. It was a piece of hard fabric, it looked like leather.

'_It looks just like what Himeno was holding away from Yayoi and that guy…'_ Hajime thought and he felt hot tears spill from his eyes as he remembered the video on the television screen.

Shin started sobbing again, and Hayate didn't say a word, he just dove back into the water again.

Goh sighed in defeat and felt a few tears of his own spill from his eyes. Kei held a hand over his mouth, clenching his eyes to try and rid himself of the scene. Mannen clenched his fists in anger and muttered a line of curses that would make a sailor flinch.

And Hajime just felt worse each time Hayate resurfaced. Hayate was still in denial. Hajime didn't want to believe it either, but… it was all there, all the proof. But he gave it one last ditch effort.

"Hey," he allowed, making sure to steady his voice as the other knights looked at him slowly.

"Sitting around on our asses thinking about terrible stuff isn't going to get us anywhere," he slowly permitted to leave his lips as the three older knights looked at him with slight shock and the others listened heavily.

"So," he barged on, all fear leaving him of their reactions, "we need to get ourselves organized. We need to organize a search party, because I haven't given up on Himeno yet.

"You may think that she's passed, but I don't care what the hell you think right now, all I know is that we should give her a chance. I know Himeno; she's a lot tougher than to be taken down by a damn plane accident. She's gone through a lot, but that doesn't mean she's been weakened. What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, right? So I don't think we all should be so damn faithless in the woman that's been forced through so much! She's stronger than any of us, I'm sure we can all agree! She's smarter than us; she must've had a plan when she told that girl to leave her on the plane! And most importantly, Himeno put so much effort into saving this city, this country, this world from the tree of Fenrir! It's not fair that she has to be pulled out of such a good world that she put so much time into helping! So we need to get off our asses, quit with the damn crying, and _find our Pretear!_" he finished boldly, crossing his arms and setting on an angry and stubborn face.

The other Knights just gaped at him in alarm. Never before had they seen this side of their little Water Knight. There was dead silence until Goh started chuckling. Every one turned to him like he was a lunatic, but Hajime knew that he'd gotten through to him. _'Either that,'_ he thought as he watched, _'or I've finally driven him mad.'_

Goh just kept chuckling until it was full out laughter, making him clutch his stomach. When he finally calmed down, he looked at his little brother with pride clearly shining in his eyes.

"Ya know," Goh stated, still chuckling slightly, "You've got guts." He said as he floated across the water to his little brother knight.

"But you've got faith," he continued, now looking straight down at the Water Leafe Knight, "and you also got my vote."

Hajime smiled widely as the other Knights looked at each other and nodded, their resolves steeling. They were going to find Himeno, one way or another.

Hayate looked at the deep blue water his hair and eyes so clearly resembled. He was going to find Himeno, along with the others. He knew he shouldn't have been so faithless, and randomly diving into the water was going to get him no where any time soon. He looked at the Leafe Knight of Water with a new sense of pride as the little one came quickly came up with the plan for the search and rescue mission. **Nothing **was going to get in their' way.

#~*~#

Nosuka chan: Jeez, I finally got it done! Took me two damn days! Thanks for all of your support, Cherry-sama, Chika-sama and Mamoru-sama! …Well, even though you're dumb for insulting them, therefore getting yourself duct-taped to the ceiling Mamoru-sama… Mwehehhh…


	5. Chapter 5

Nosuka chan: I'm back! I'm sooo sorry I made you wait so long! But after some serious encouragement from my friends here on Fan Fiction, I AM READY!

Kuroi: Oh, you're finally back! Where have you been?

Kiyoraka: She's probably been locked up in a cage…

Nosuka chan: YOU! Get out of here! I thought I banished you last time!

Kiyoraka: NO! Baka! That's in your other fiction! Which is equally as horrible!

Kuroi: Would you guys quit arguing and stay on topic! Jeez!

Nosuka chan: Shut up! I'm going on with the story! *snaps fingers*

Kiyoraka: *poofs away*

#~*~#

'_Mmm..' _Himeno thought as she dreamed peacefully, "_Its so nice here... so soft… like silk… it feels like I'm floating on air…'_ Himeno thought she was going to fall asleep, but she heard voices.

'_Oh Pretear! Arise, Great White Pretear! Ye must wake! Ye are not safe! These are dangerous waters, and ye are injured! Ye must wake!'_ The voice sounded nice, but it was firm and nagging.

'_Hayate? Is that you? No, you don't sound like Hayate, more like Sasa- Wait, did you say WATERS?'_ at that Himeno's eyes snapped open. Around her was a world of filtered light and reflective particles of dust or dirt or other substance. It was mainly blue but also clear. But that wasn't what amazed her. What really surprised her was that there was a black finless porpoise right next to her. They were supposed to be endangered and rare, so as you can guess she was pretty shocked. Not to mention the fact that it was _right_ next to her and it was bigger than her.

Himeno instinctively jumped, or in this case swam, away from the creature in a second, opening her mouth, gasping.

'_Wait, a porpoise? How can a porpoise swim- UNDERWATER! I'M UNDERWATER!' _She realized, desperately grabbing at her throat and he mouth to make sure she didn't drown. After about a minute though, she couldn't hold her breath any longer and opened her mouth, letting the bubbles fly downwards.

'_Wait, bubbles go down? No, I must be upside down! Duh! Wait, so I should swim there!'_ as soon as she realized this she flipped herself over and started to swim that way, the water getting brighter with every kick. But something was weighing her down. She paused to look at herself quickly before realizing that she was wearing her White Pretear outfit. She paused, obviously confused. How had she changed? Why had she changed? _Where_ was she even?

'_Oh, good! Thine Pretear has come to her senses! I thought ye would never calm down!' _a voice said in her head.

Himeno flipped back to look at the porpoise, before shaking her head. Porpoises couldn't talk in her mind! Hayate would laugh at her for thinking such things.

Then her heart dropped below her stomach. Hayate. Where was he? Was he okay? What was going on? Would Hayate come to help her?

Himeno was desperate and there was no other living creature around her besides this porpoise. So, she talked to it.

"_Pwarrpwwoouuuss" _she gargled air bubbles out, unable to speak regularly underwater. Dangit, why hadn't she thought of that?

The thing just seemed to shake its head. _'No, call me __Nezumiiruka*. And speak through your mind. That is how I learned, White Pretear.'_

Himeno thought she was going crazy. She was breathing underwater, talking, no; using telepathy with a porpoise, and said animal knew she was the White Pretear. She had obviously hit her head really hard on something.

'_Okay, Nezumiiruka. I have a few questions; please answer them to your best ability. 1. How am I using telepathy 2. How are you using telepathy 3. How am I breathing underwater and not drowning 4. How do you know that I'm the White Pretear? I've never seen you before so it's not like you could recognize me._

'_Well Pretear, 1. You have the natural ability; it was just hidden because you didn't exactly need it at most times, so you didn't unlock that talent. 2. It's how we animals speak amongst ourselves, since we don't have human voices. 3. You have undoubtedly unlocked being the Pretear of Water and you have gained the ability to breathe underwater because of it. How would it be fitting to have the Pretear of Water drown while on duty? And 4. Hajime told me. We are good friends, but he has not been able to visit me in a few weeks. Hajime told me all about you, your name is Himeno, right? And your outfit is tell-tale. Such a give away.'_

Himeno gaped at the large creature. Well, Nezumiiruka had answered her questions but it wasn't exactly getting through her mind. It was so confusing, it just didn't make sense. But she was the Pretear. A lot of things didn't make sense at first, so she just had to go with the flow.

Himeno scoffed at her own ridiculous pun. She took one last good look at her surroundings, before looking back at Nezumiiruka.

'_Err, thank you, Nezumiiruka-sama. But I think I'll just head back towards land, you said these are dangerous waters'_

'_No!'_ Nezumiiruka suddenly yelled telepathically, nudging Himeno's outfit, _'You can't! Look at the surface, it's disturbed and filthy with the remnants of that big explosion and the crash!'_

Indeed, as she looked at the surface, she could see where pieces of flaming shrapnel were still left behind; her heart dropped to dropped past her stomach once again.

'_Nezumiiruka! Where there any… any __**bodies**__… found in the water?'_

Nezumiiruka looked thoughtful for a moment, a surprising feat for such a creature, then shook her head lightly back and forth, easing Himeno's mind. Her gaze drifted back towards the surface. _'There were no deaths…' _her eyes darkened _'…except everyone probably thinks that __**I'm **__dead by now…'_

Nezumiiruka had obviously been listening in on Himeno's thoughts and nudged her outfit again, but in a comforting way.

'_They might, but when you return, they will be overjoyed. But there's one slight detail…'_ the rare animal looked nervous, also a feat for an animal that wasn't supposed to have such emotions in the first place _'… umm, I do not know which way is back to your homeland… But I know somewhere that you can stay!' _she finished quickly, noting Himeno's distraught look.

And so the famous White Pretear followed the black finless porpoise to where ever.

#~*~#

Nosuka chan: I'm sorry this chappy is so short, but I felt that I just needed to get that quick bit of info out, and I'm also sorry that everything was rushed as it was. I'm also running two other fan fictions, and I **need** to update soon on my second one!

Kuroi: You work so hard. Why don't you take a break once in a while?

Nosuka chan: I JUST took an unintended two-and-a-half week long break from my fictions! **MY POOR BABIES NEED ME!**

Kuroi: *spit take* I hope you mean the fan fictions and not the reviewers…

Nosuka chan: DUH. Ja ne!


	6. Chappy 6

Nosuka chan: Gomen, gomen, a bajillion times gomen! *bowing like crazy* I'm so sorry that my computer had an error in it!

Kuroi: It couldn't be helped, Nosuka.

Kiyoraka: Stupid computer freezes… I couldn't go on youtube for a week!

Nosuka chan: Oh it sucked big time! I couldn't even type on word. So now, arigato Ojichan for kindly letting me use your computer to write up this next chappy!

Kuroi: I like your ojichan. He makes lots of cool things in the garage.

Kiyoraka: I know! He built me a go kart for my 14th birthday!

Nosuka chan: I know, you got the go kart, Kuro-chan got the boat and I got the quad. Anyways, enough of my useless rambling, I've kept you long enough! Enjoy!

#~*~#

Himeno woke to the feeling of being nudged rather hard with something dull and mushy. Her eyes fluttered open to see Nezumiiruka staring at her intently. She looked around and was greeted by the sight of a large cave… except she was underwater still so it made the entrance to it look like it was wriggling around, but she was used to it by now and quickly surfaced. After all, she had been underwater for at least five hours, possibly longer. Time passes kind of quick when you can breathe underwater and talk to animals telepathically.

The cave was very large and was formed in the bottom part of a cliff. Most of the entrance was underwater, so you'd only be able to see it if you drove close enough in a boat or swam near it. The cliff jutted out of the water and lowered down to a small island of mainly rocks and sand, but a tree or two were to be seen upon it. The cave itself must've led further back, since when Himeno looked in it was about five feet of the lighted area and then there was total cave darkness where the light couldn't reach.

'_Are there any other porpoises or animals living in the cave?' _Himeno asked Nezumiiruka telepathically.

'_Yes, there are two others in there, one be a girl, my sister, and the other be her… in human terms, I guess that he'd be her husband.'_ She replied with a trill, calling to her sister and brother-in-law.

Himeno turned around in time to be rammed backwards, which was accompanied by high trills that sounded like laughter. _'Ouch!' _"Gurrglle!"

'_It is true! I knew it! I told you she wasn't lying when she sent the message of her meeting with the great white Pretear!'_ the one porpoise telepathically screamed, making Himeno turn to the one she was sure was Nezumiiruka.

'_You sent a message ahead? How do you do that?' _

If possible, Nezumiiruka looked sheepish. _'Call it a long-distance call'_. Himeno shook her head. How the heck did she come to the fact that a rare breed of porpoise and all animals can make long-distance calls telepathically? It could've come in handy with her phone bill!

'_I get it, okay? It's the Pretear, I get it! Now stop shouting and making a fool of yourself before you embarrass us both!'_ the other, larger porpoise yelled back and the first became quiet except for the occasional trill, which Himeno took as giggling. It was all she could do not to roll her eyes. _'So there're fan girls among animals too, huh?' _she thought secretly. (A.N. / Himeno has this little thought bubble in her head where she can think privately and then the rest is where Nezumiiruka and animals can hear)

'_Ah, hello, miss Awayuki. My name is Dansei Iruka__*__ and this is my wife and mate, Josei no Iruka__*.__ It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you, miss Pretear.'_ The second, now identified as Dansei, said. Josei no made another trill.

'_Yes, it truly is an honor to meet the amazing woman that saved our waters! I hope that you can recuperate and heal while you stay in our humble home!'_ Josei no said. _'Please, come in, come in! We have prepared a soft bed made of the finest aquatic moss! And we gathered some sea anemones and coral for decoration!'_ Josei no bubbled out excitedly. (Please forgive me for the pun, I didn't realize it until I wrote it -_-)

And so the teen girl allowed herself to be nudged inside the cave and promptly gasped. Despite previous thoughts, the end of the cave was lit brightly with glowing snails on the walls and literally _glowing_ plankton swimming around (yes, such things do exist. I don't know if they're around Japan, but I've been accurate enough so far. Why not goof it a little?). True to the married couple's words, the room was indeed decorated with many different colors of coral and sea anemones were placed in a bouquet on the make shift rock shokutaku*. The round bed was made of a soft moss, and there were no small critters to be found in it. The room had a hole in the wall that showed up to the surface and light was allowed to pass through it, illuminating it during the day. Random sea stars were stuck to the walls. The room itself was shaped like a square with rounded edges. It must've taken hundreds of years to make a cave naturally take that shape, Himeno reflected.

Himeno was flabbergasted (my new fave word ^^) that the room looked so natural. Almost like it was _meant_ to look like an average teen's room. It looked like something out of the American movie, _The Little Mermaid, _Ariel's room. Himeno turned and bowed to the small family of three that stood at the room's entrance.

'_Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Iruka, and Nezumiiruka. It is beautiful here, I'm glad that I met such a nice family!'_ Himeno said with a bright smile.

Josei no, whom Himeno had recognized by the small scar on her nose, made another giggle-trill.

'_It is no problem at all, White Pretear-sama! We are glad that we get to meet you, and are ecstatic that you like our abode!' _she squeaked at the end of the sentence and nudged her husband, who was identified because of the small fish hook on his fin. Himeno frowned internally. She'd have to do something about that.

'_Ah, yes,' _the only male of the two mammal types started, _' it truly is a rare thing to have such an honored guest, and we hope you may enjoy your stay here.'_ Himeno nodded, still holding that smile on her face.

'_But I would like to do something in return,'_ she stated, thinking of a way to get that hook out of Mr. Iruka's fin. The three looked surprised, which was once again quite a feat for animals that do not have eyebrows to use for expressions. But Himeno could tell they would widen their eyes if they could, because of the way the skin above their eyes lifted slightly.

'_But, what could you possibly do for us? Having the famed Great White Pretear in our simple home is a treat enough,'_ Mrs. Iruka started, only to be dismissed by Himeno's hand. Said famous Pretear put a hand to her chin in fake thought. She already knew what she wanted to do. She smiled again and snapped her fingers under water, which I can tell you is not an easy thing to do (Personal experience -_-).

Himeno swam gently over to Dansei and took a look at the hook (rhymes!). She touched it softly, but it still made the male wince. She frowned.

'_How about I take this hook out of your fin, Mr. Iruka? Is that okay?'_ she asked looking up into his eyes.

He looked relieved and happy. _'Yes, please! It is such a bother when I'm swimming, always wiggling and agitating me. It would be very nice to finally have it taken out. But after we head to the surface to get some air, ne? I feel like I need a breather.' _They were mammals, after all.

'_Yes, of course. I think I'd like to see the moon in the sky for a few minutes as well. Is it alright if I take it out in the morning? I feel rather tired and I don't think it would be a good idea to use shaky hands while doing something so important,'_ Himeno said back, glad to have an excuse not to do it at the moment. He nodded his head in agreement.

'_Well, if we're going to get air then we should all go. Then we shall rest and the hook will be removed in the morning. And Himeno,' _Josei no said while Nezumiiruka and Dansei swam up ahead, _'arigato. Arigato for helping my husband.'_

Himeno smiled brightly, her teeth becoming illuminated in the moonlight. _'Anata no kangei.__*__' _and with that, they swam to the surface. But Himeno was filled with sadness and worry.

'_Where are the Knights? And are they okay? Are they looking for me?'_

#~*~#

Nosuka chan: Haha, yes! Finally I have written this chapter! This was just a cute idea I got while eating lunch I don't have any time left over to check this because my little sister (referred to as Kiyoraka) is literally screaming at me to get off, so I'll just update for now and hope that there are no problems! Ja ne! Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

**FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, I SWITCHED MY ATTENTION NOTICE FOR THE LAST CHAPER WITH THE REAL CHAPTER.**

Nosuka chan: *laughs maniacally* I'm updating fast now!

Kuroi: That's because you're making up for the time you spent away from fanfiction.

Kiyoraka: Mhm… you ditched your poor readers…

Nosuka chan: *growls* I did not ditch them! They are some of my favorite people!

Kiyoraka: So, you'd be more trustful of some random people that you met online than the people you actually know in _real life_?

Nosuka chan: I already do trust them more than other people. And this is real life, just a different reality. Now on with my story! And this chappy is real short, but I just wanted to do a little Mawata/Goh thing out of this whole story… Mwehehehhhh…. They're my second fave pairing besides Himeno/Hayate!

#~*~#

Goh nearly collapsed on the foyer of the Awayuki mansion that he and the other nights called home. All of the Knights had been searching nonstop for the past three days for Himeno, but they hadn't found a clue to where she might be. Except for a ripped piece of clothing, that was a soft pink, just like Himeno's clothes…

'_Wait, three days? Hasn't it been at least four? … Or was it two? Oh I give up!' _Goh sighed tiredly and tried to walk up the stairs, but failed miserably and ended up sitting on the bottom step. He heard a small gasp and footstep rushing down the steps towards him, but he could already tell who it was.

He sighed sadly as he heard the person sit behind him and rub his shoulders, loosening the knots that were on the knots. He hated bringing bad news.

"Are you okay, Goh?" Mawata asked, trying to comfort the stressed out Knight of fire. He sighed again.

"No. I'm stressed. I'm sad, and I feel helpless. I wish I could've done something to help Himeno…" he hung his head.

Mawata smiled sadly and laid her head on Goh's shoulder from behind, keeping her hands on them. Goh put his hand on hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't worry Goh. I know Himeno will be fine. And it's not your fault. After all, you didn't cause that explosion on the plane."

Goh smiled softly. He truly was lucky to have such a good fried with him. His heat clenched when he thought of her as a friend.

'_Wait… what does that mean?'_ he stole a quick glance at the blue-haired beauty resting her head on his back and felt his face light up a little at their closeness. _'Oh man… Does that mean…?'_ Goh's thoughts wandered off into a happy little thought bubble.

'_Oh Goh…'_ Mawata thought happily and sadly.

'_Why is it that I can find joy in you even in our darkest hours?'_ Mawata blushed and her eyes snapped open. _'Did I just say 'our'? I mean, no, not like that! I mean like… like all of ours, all of the Knights and.. and my family… yes, that's it…'_ yet something told her otherwise in her mind, though she forcefully shoved the image into the back of her mind. They had more important matters that the time… like where was Himeno?

#~*~#

Nosuka chan: Yep, I really meant it when I said this would be a short chappy. Unfortunately. Oh well. That's what you get for two chappys in one day.

Kiyoraka: That doesn't seem fair.

Nosuka chan: Oh well, even if I wanted to write more, it's almost time for me to go to sleep. I'm so damn tired and tomorrow's a Monday. *grumbles* I hate Sunday nights and Monday mornings…

Kuroi: *sighs* well at least they're not fighting. Jan e and review, please!


	8. Chapter 8

Nosuka chan: Okay, quit yellin at me! I know I'm late updating, but I had to bring up my grades and update my other stories.

Kiyoraka: Isn't that the excuse you use every time?

Kuroi: Isn't this the part where you both get angry at each other despite my warnings and Kiyoraka ends up getting hurt?

Nosuka chan: Yes, normally. But I need to get to the story, quickly. I'm supposed to be doing a social studies report on -guess what?- Feudal Japan! So, let's get this stone rolling! And for those plagued by sadness by the terrible events previous, don't worry; it's Shin to the rescue! His brilliant plan gives them a clue to where Himeno is! And a special shout-out to CherryBlossom210, who has stuck with me throughout this whole strange story! Arigatou!

**#~*~#**

Shin watched with watery eyes as Hayate stared at the pink tulip bed again. So far there had been no trace of Himeno, and everyone was falling apart—five days, including the day of the crash, was a long time to be stranded at sea.

Two days ago, Mayune had burst into tears when she had passed Himeno's bedroom door. Yesterday, Mannen had punched a hole in the wall when he heard the radio station conclude that there was still no trace of Himeno. That was right, the whole media was all over it like flies on honey. They had launched a least two dozen rescue helicopters the day of the crash, fifteen coast guard boats and even a navy ship had gotten involved. With a rescue team of at least 350 people, which was not even including the concerned citizens in boats that varied to crabbing boats to kayaks, the media trying to catch a big break, all the employees of the Awayuki mansion _and_ the Leafe Knights, there had still been no trace of the lost Pretear except for some remnants of the plane such as shreds of clothes, suitcases and leather seating.

And only a few hours ago, Hayate had resigned himself to Himeno's rebuilt home in Leafenia. He hadn't come out for hours, and when he did, he went straight to the flowerbeds that Himeno had loved so much. Shin almost couldn't take it anymore, he just wanted everything to go back to normal, when everyone was laughing and playing and just having a good time.

Shin stared at Hayate. He looked far from anything close to the emotion happy. His eyes were ice cold and void of any spark of life, his hands and skin were pale, his hair was no longer shiny but a dull color. It was like he had changed completely from the Leafe Knight of the Wind to one of Fenrir's Dark Knights. He looked like he was dead inside as he picked a small, non-bloomed tulip and looked it over with empty eyes. Shin's eyes began to water even worse as Hayate closed his eyes and crumpled the flower in his fist.

Shin, unable to take anything any longer, started running away from his depressed friend and towards one of his favorite places in the Mansion grounds, the giant pond near the large wind chimes. As he sat by the edge of the pond, he looked in and saw his rippling reflection. He had changed so much compared to when he had first started working with Himeno. A few years did that to people. He wasn't so little any more, but looked like the average 11 year old. He wished he could go back to those days, when the eight of them were all fighting against Fenrir. Not that he didn't like Takako, it was just that he wished they could restart and have an adventure all over again.

Shin sighed as he leaned his head on his arms and dipped his fingers in the water, making for a blurry mix of green and blond-his hair and clothing colors. He smiled sadly as some nearby plants whispered sweet sayings to him, trying desperately to cheer him up. He looked to the nearest, a few daffodils to the side of the pond. He shifted and gently touched the petals, hoping to reassure them. He spotted a non-blooming daffodil, petting it lightly and watching as it burst to life. He sighed again and shifted back to the pond, only to see that a few sakura petals from a nearby tree had drifted into it from the lazy breeze. He watched as another petal, then another and another fell, and finally a small twig with a sakura blossom fell into the pond. It was sad to him that he couldn't save the blossom much now except to give it some fresh water and a little boost of leafe every once in a while, but life happens. He got up from his spot at the edge and stepped onto the water, a new trick Hajime had taught him, though it was only his third successful attempt.

As he walked over the water shakily, he looked into the water and saw the sakura blossom gently sinking to the bottom of the shallow pond. When he reached down, he saw a small amount of algae left after workers residing on the surface. It started whispering to him, quietly and calmly, but definitely there. He reached into the water and pulled out the blossom, the voices of the water plant growing slightly louder at the water's disturbance. Then it struck him. If the plants from _this _water could speak to him, then the aquatic plants from the ocean spot where the plane crashed could talk to him too. And if the plants from there could talk to him, then they must've known what disturbances were in the water at that time, too. Then maybe, just maybe, the underwater plants could tell him where Himeno had drifted off to!

It was a small hope and a slim chance at the most, but it lit up Shin's hope like fireworks. He ran back across the water, getting his clothes and shoes soaked with the splashes, but he didn't care. If he could find a way to find Himeno, by any means, then he'd take it.

When he hopped off the pond's surface, he placed the blossom at the base of the tree it had originated from and ran towards the garden. If Hayate or any of the Knights were there, he'd tell them, but if they weren't he wouldn't waste any time by looking for them. Every second counted for Himeno's life.

When he got to the flower beds he saw that Hayate wasn't there anymore. Slightly saddened bt not discouraged an ounce, he made a giant flower grow and hopped into it from which led him to he beach. He jumped out of the flower at the base of a small bush, scaring the wits out a passing group of people, yet he raced on to the waters ahead. When he got there he didn't bother taking off his shoes and shirt, just diving straight in towards the bottom. As he dove deeper, it became harder to see, but somehow he managed to find the nearest aquatic plant life—a sea anemone.

'_Hey, you! Excuse me, but have you sensed any disturbances in the water down here or possibly seen anything strange, like a person?'_ he mentally asked. He couldn't risk letting his breath out at such a crucial time.

'_Eh? Whose there? Get ou—oh, my. Who are you? You don't seem to be that annoying clownfish…'_ the thing replied. From what he'd heard, it sounded more like a grumpy old man.

'_No sir, I'm Shin, the Leafe Knight of Earth. I was wondering if you had sensed any disturbances in the water arpund this area, like if anything or anyone has come down here lately?'_ he asked again, more hurriedly. His lungs were starting to burn.

'_Oh, so you're one of them fancy-type soldier men, eh? With the powers and such? Interesting. As for a person, let me see… hmm…'_ the strange anemone contemplated for a moment. Shin thought his lungs were going to explode by the time the old plant responded.

'_As a matter of fact, I have my dear boy. It looked big, and sort of wavy… but not like my tentacles, mind you. More like what you humans would call fabric, I think. Yes, that's it! I remember! It was a person, a pretty person, with big flowing wing-like parts, and I think it was a girl—yes, it's coming back to me now! I don't think she was awake, see now. She was just floating there for a while until her eyes opened and then my good friend, Nezumiiruka, came and bothered her to wake. By the looks of it, she was rather beaten up—cuts and scratches and bruises, everywhere that was visible. But the amazing thing was she just started healing as soon as she got there. Strangest thing I ever done seen.'_ The oceanic plant mumbled to itself for a few more moments until Shin realized he was done. With a last fleeting breath, he thanked the old sea anemone and swam as fast as he could to the surface. He gasped and gagged as he tried to regain some breath. He could see spots dancing through his vision, but they were rapidly disappearing. He'd have to go back down and find out who—and what— Nezumiiruka was, and then hopefully he could track down Himeno. But for now he just smiled, large and bright and hopeful. Himeno was alive. Broken battered and bruised, that's for sure—no one, not even the Pretear could escape from a plane wreck scott-free—but alive, she was indefinitely. He thought of the strange detail, though. Big and wavy? Like human fabric? She must've transformed—possibly into the White Pretear, if only to save her own life.

But that didn't matter, because if she'd opened her eyes then she must be alive. He floated happily for a few minutes before he heard shouts from the shoreline. He opened his eyes and looked, only to see Goh, Hajime, Mannen and Sasame waving to him from the sand. He smiled even wider, because now he wouldn't have to hunt them down in that big-ass mansion. _And _he would bring good news.

Could this day get any better? The answer was yes, because as soon as he told the other Knights present, they looked at each other for a split second before whooping and hollering happily, hugging and cheering like they had never been happy before. As the Knights sped off to tell everyone, Himeno's family, Hayate, the media to resume the search that had died down slightly, and anyone else that cared- which was possibly everyone residing in Awayuki Town- he closed his eyes and said a silent thank you to sakura blossoms and water everywhere.

And with that, he disappeared into a giant flower and teleported to the mansion he called a second home.

**#~*~#**

Nosuka chan: So how was that! I thought all of you deserved a little ay of sunshine, so I decided to skip part of the gloomy stuff I had planned for this chapter and speed ahead to the happy stuff. Hope you don't mind!

Kiyoraka: You do realize that this fic will have to end sooner, right?

Kuroi: Please, don't start fighting and ruin the happy mood.

Nosuka chan: Actually, now that the chapter's done, I can do anything I want for a while! *pounces in Kiyoraka and pulls her into a head lock*

Kiyoraka: !&$#%

Nosuka chan: BWAHAHAHAHA! Review, please!

Kuroi: *shaking his head* Ja ne, everyone.


	9. Chapter 9

Nosuka chan: Konnichiwa!

Kiyoraka: She's just as annoying as always.

Kuroi: *sighs* Nothing new to anybody, Kiyo-chan.

Nosuka chan: Blah blah blah. Anyway, I went to Anime con on Sunday! *smiles insanely*

Kiyoraka: *groans* four hours of nonstop anime. Only something a crazy otaku like _her_ could take!

Kuroi: Just be happy that she didn't go for the fourteen hours and with you.

Nosuka chan: Bwahahahahahahha! Yup yup! Anyway, on with the story!

**#~*~#**

Mannen let the cell phone drop from his hand and stared, wide-eyed at nothing. These were his exact thoughts;

'_we've got a clue to where Himeno is._

'_We've got a clue to where Himeno is?_

'_WE'VE GOT A FRIGGIN CLUE TO WHERE HIMENO IS! YEEESSSSS!'_

"YEEEAAAHHH!"

Mannen did a signature Snoopy "Happy Dance" and laughed as Goh yelled at him from the other end of the line of the fallen cell.

"_Mannen? Mannen! __**Mannen! Pick up the damn phone!**_" He stopped mid-dance and dove for the phone, scrambling to bring it back up to his ear.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm still here! What did you just call me! No _you_ shut up! I'll get there as fast as I can jeez! No, I can get there by myself. Oh, and one more thing" he said, an evil glint in his eye.

"_What?" _was the irritated reply.

"You're an idiot!" click. The cell went dead as Goh started to shout at him once more. Mannen snickered and broke out into a goofy laugh. Today he would celebrate, because they had some idea as to where Himeno was. Not to mention it turned out he got five bars in his room in the back part of the mansion.

Mannen danced some more of the Happy Dance and then burst out of his room at a full run. He navigated expertly through the mansion, only threatening to run into a stray maid every once in a while. Soon he busted through the mansion doors and flew all the way to the beach where the others were waiting for him. Upon arrival he was bombarded with noogies from Goh, but nothing that would make him lose too much of his IQ.

"So, where do you guys think she is? And who tipped us off?" he asked after he recovered from the attack. Shin smiled wide.

"I was told that a friend of the source had found Himeno and taken her. I'm not sure exactly where, but it's supposedly way far out to sea. Oh, and the source is a sea anemone. Via Shin," Sasame said happily. Mannen jumped on his younger brother and gave him a one-armed hug and a high five.

"Nice job, midget!" he laughed. Shin pouted playfully and Goh smacked him upside the head. Which only proceeded in starting another fight between the two.

"Oi!" Hayate shouted, gaining their attention. Mannen stopped trying to smack Goh in the face and Goh dropped Mannen on his face. He grumbled as he got up and dusted himself off.

"Enough goofing off, let's start searching!" he said, full of energy. The deadness had disappeared from his eyes and they were filled with a new type of energy. He no longer slouched but stood in a full alert mode. There were no bags under his eyes. His hand twitched every few seconds as if wishing to move faster, stronger. Mannen smiled and nodded his head. In a few seconds they were all separated and spread out; Shin traveling underwater, talking to the plants and coming up for breath; Mannen, freezing a path walk over the water and Goh following him, melting the path after them as not to disturb the water life; Hayate flying low against the surface of the water, creating a wake of disturbed water; Sasame dipping underwater every once in a while to check the sound waves for any voices, mainly Himeno's; and Hajime, rocketing underwater, searching for any hint of his female friend. The ultimate search team for the ultimate savior.

Unkown to them, Himeno was swimming through the water with Nezumiiruka, Dansei Iruka and Josei no Iruka in the direction of –what they hoped was—the mainland.

I'll give you one guess as to who they might run into on the way back.

**#~*~#**

Nosuka chan: Yeah, a short chappy, but it's 12:19 in the morn and I don't know what else to type. Ja ne~

Kuroi: Ja ne

Kiyoraka: *asleep*


End file.
